A Very Late December 2012 Natural Beauty Box

There has been much beauty box drama on the Facebook pages of Glossybox, Glymm and even TNBB. The first issue was how the December boxes shipped out only this month due to some items not arriving on time, then there were some strange messages from someone named “Dr. Emerald” who was revealed to be the mother of the two sisters running TNBB. Also, it turns out that most of the products provided in the TNBB are actually from subsidiary companies owned by a parent company ATL International owned by none other than the girls of TNBB.  I know this isn’t exactly a secret and I have been enjoying the products, but it I think this should have been clear right from the beginning.

Drama aside, I really did enjoy December’s TNBB and its array of products! I think I may have even liked it more than my October one. December had all sorts of sweet-smelling goodies that I fully look forward to using! Let’s check out the products, shall we?   

Dec 2012

Temptations Bath N’ Body Smell Me Soy Lotion Candle

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Use Smell Me Soy anytime to leave your room smelling AMAZING! Available in a ton of tempting scents, Smell Me Soy is a lotion candle, meaning that once a pool of melted Smell Me Soy has formed, you can use it as a moisturizer! Cool eh?

Thoughts: I have lotion candles like this and as cool of a concept as it is, the consistency is still a little too waxy to use comfortably as a lotion so I think I will keep to enjoying this as a candle.

Full size: 9oz/$19.95

I received: 1oz/$3.95

Temptations Bath N’ Body Wicked Little Gingerbread Soap

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This Wicked Little Gingerbread all natural soap will leave your skin soft and smelling just like those yummy gingerbread cookies we all love!

Thoughts: Hehe, this is so cute and smells just like warm gingerbread cookies. I will enjoy using this as if it’s still December.

Full size: 5oz/$8.95

I received: 0.5oz/$2.95

Delizioso Skincare Cucumber Cooling Facial Moisturizer

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With cooling and healing properties, this moisturizer is perfect for oily, sensitive and dry skin. Use morning and evening.

Thoughts: A nice and thick moisturizer that smells refreshing like real cucumbers. This is yet another product that I am very excited to try as I think my dry skin will love it!

Full size: 1oz/$22.00

I received: 0.5oz/$11.00

Delizioso Skincare Black Diamond Mascara

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Condition your lashes with the best 100% natural mascara that coats lashes with antioxidants and vitamins.

Thoughts: This was an extra item that TNBB included as a “thanks for waiting for the December Box” which was nice. I’ve never thought of mascara as being 100% natural as there are some interesting ingredients in this mascara like oils of cucumber, blackcurrant, raspberry, rosehip and rice bran.

Full size: 5mL/$19.00

I received: *FULL SIZE*

Delizioso Skincare Watermelon and CoQ10 Microsphere Polish

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Polish away dullness for a radiant, extra soft complexion using this gentle organic scrub for all skin types.

Thoughts: Another product that smells so good and I can’t wait to use. I use face scrubs all the time and this looks gentle enough to use every day.

Full size: 1oz/$42.00

I received: 0.5oz/$21.00

Original Purity Raw Seeds Facial Gelee

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A facial gelee that consists of a mixture of three pure seed oils which are cold pressed and proven to revive the fresh tone of skin.

Thoughts: Smells like rich vanilla and feels soothing on my face. I have been using this facial gelee as a serum and it has worked wonderfully to make my skin look more “alive”. I love the smell and consistency enough that I might actually buy the full size!

Full size: 2oz/$18.00

I received: 0.25oz/$3.00

Kitty Kosmetics Natural Body Scrub in Kandy Kane

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Made with super soothing oils, this body scrub will leave your skin naturally glowing. Exfoliate skin with a generous amount of natural body scrub then rinse off.

Thoughts: I have mentioned before, I LOVE peppermint so this scrub is made for me! I really need to get the full size of this once I’m finished with this sample.

Full size: 8oz/$32.00

I received: 1oz/$5.00

I Love Coffee Super Nourishing Hand Cream

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Keep your hands soft and moisturized this winter and spring with I LOVE COFFEE’s hand cream! Made with pure coffee oil.

Thoughts: OMG, I couldn’t wait for this product! I saw this in someone else’s TNBB and I knew this would be the first product I would pull out. This hand cream is quite thick and smells like creamy coffee. Just heavenly. Full size here we come!

Full size: 4oz/$25.00

I received: 0.5oz/$4.00

I Love Coffee Butter Massage Bar

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Made with organic butters to leave your skin feeling super soft. Use after bath for softest skin!

Thoughts: Mmmm…my goodness will the good smells never end! A coffee massage bar? Yes please!

Full size: 4oz/$25.00

I received: 1oz/$6.25

Dr.Emerald Golden Berries Super Anti-Aging Stick

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Use this super nourishing stick under the eyes and around other problem areas.

Thoughts: Aha, a product from the mysterious Dr.Emerald! A targeted anti-aging stick? Interesting…the smell of this is off-putting though so it might be something I use at night when I’m not going to be around people!

Full size: 0.25oz/$39.95

I received: *FULL SIZE*

Wine Delights Pina Colada All Natural Shower Gel

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Make your showers smell just like pina colada with this all natural shower gel.

Thoughts: It’s sealed so I haven’t smelled this shower gel, but Pina Colada can’t be bad right?

Full size: 8oz/$29.95

I received: 1.7oz/$7.00

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Total Value of TNBB: $123.10

The value of each TNBB is always well over $100, but I never really feel like I’m getting that. I feel like I am receiving more of a $50 value. Now, the price of TNBB has increased from $21 to $29.95 which I feel is too much for every month. I can see myself getting one for Christmas, but for now, this is my last TNBB as I don’t love the subscription enough to hang on to it. I absolutely loved the December box and can see myself buying quite a number of the products in full size, but now that I’m looking at $30/month, this subscription will definitely have to go on the back burner.  Sorry TNBB! This good bye is more of a price than product issue!

What do you think of the price hike and Facebook drama?

15 comments

  1. Despite products being good, i think facebook drama will be pretty detrimental for companies like glossybox and tnbb.

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    1. I know, it puts a bit of a bad taste in my mouth when I read how companies treat their subscribers.

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  2. So weird about the 'drama', but this box, omg! So much better than the one that I got! $30 is a little too much for me though so I probably won't be getting anymore.

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    1. It is pretty expensive right? Despite the drama, it was still a pretty good box, one with many sweet-smelling things :)

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  3. Oooh, that coffee hand cream was the first thing that popped out to me too. It looks so yummy! And I've been reading about all that drama... wonder how many people cancelled their subscriptions after everything that went down.

    xo, alison*elle

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    1. The coffee hand cream smells so heavenly, I can't stop smelling it!
      Drama is really quite detrimental to a company because some of the company responses were not exactly professional...albeit, people were being quite rude. Ah, the internet...

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  4. It's too bad the company seems rather sketchy -- these products look pretty good. There's been so much beauty box drama recently!

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    1. It was the veil of deception that upset me a little. From the subsidiary companies, to Dr.Emerald, and then the $10 price hike. I did enjoy the products so we'll see if I come back to TNBB again.

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  5. I feel the products are very overpriced. Some of them are nice smelling but do they actually DO anything special for the price? Glad I only signed up for 6 months, wasn't sure if company would survive and many other beauty boxes are getting bad press regarding small samples didn't want to go thru that with this one.

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    1. I know, if it had stayed at $21, then maybe, but $30 is way too expensive for what we're getting.

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  6. I don't find this company shady, I just think they are a really small company that has trouble keeping up with the customer expectations of that of larger companies. I think they buckled under the pressure a bit. They give waaay more samples than anyone else does. That being said, I don't know that I could afford $30 for samples but I will continue to buy full size products that I want from their store. In general, I am over the monthly subcription beauty box phase - Glymm, Topbox, Luxebox, etc. I was getting a lot of crap lately - I've decided I may as well spend that money on larger products I want. I have a good idea what that is now. Although I am always extremely happy with the TNBB box samples - the natural, organic amazing smelling stuff - it's just too pricey now for sample sizes.

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    1. I agree that now it's definitely not worth it at $30. A part of me also feels that I could just spend $50 on something I REALLY love, but I'm still in love with these beauty boxes, so it might be awhile before I stop!

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    2. I know what you mean - there is something exciting about the arrival of those boxes! :)

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  7. Eek pretty pricey. The products do really seem amazing though!

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    1. I know, I was so sad that they raised their prices! December's box was really amazing though! I loved everything inside!

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